Even Bowser wouldn’t approve.

18 July 2018

It was one of the most exciting events to come to Melbourne, but unfortunately Mario fans have been left disappointed after the ‘rally of a lifetime’ took place over the weekend.

Mushroom Racing was pitched similarly to the iconic Japanese street racing event MariCar. To participate, fans of the gaming franchise would fork out $100 for costume hire, food and an after party. It sounds great in theory, but for ticket holders, it was a big turtle shell to the face.

Racers congregated in the CBD only to be put on a bus to Le Mans Go Karts in Dandenong; a 40 minute journey outward. According to a flock of TripAdvisor reviews, participants were left confused, without guidance and were made to wait around for extensive amounts of time.

“Essentially, an organisation has found a way to execute a great marketing plan, to deceive customers into attending an established go karting track, at almost double the cost of what the actual track charges,” one disgruntled racer said, “I have to compliment Mushroom Racing on their ability to con and trick people into these $100 tickets.”

Another reviewer said, “I am also disgusted this go kart facility world even support such a scam to rip off patrons on such false advertising and failed promises.”

Food wasn’t a highlight of the event, with many people complaining about the promised ‘mushroom burgers’ at the event (pictured in inset). A TripAdvisor user accused the organisers of making wait times longer as a strategy to “get you to part with more cash in drinks and food.”

The costumes were also a let-down, with one reviewer suggesting one outfit “had a stain that looked like someone had wet themselves in it.”

A spokesman for Mushroom Racing told News Corp he was disappointed to hear the complaints “as we have been working hard to produce a high-quality event… which the majority of our customers have enjoyed as you can see from our social media pages.”